How Pregnant Carli Lloyd, Soccer Star Turned Sportscaster, is Gearing Up to Cover the 2026 World Cup (Exclusive)

Carli Lloyd attends the Fox Sports FIFA World Cup 2026 Media Day event at Lavan Chelsea on May 21, 2026 Credit: John Nacion/FOX Sports via GettyCarli Lloyd is ready for World Cup action!

The two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion, 43, is poised to co-host the competition— alongside Stars and Stripes greats Alexi Lalas, Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan — from her in-studio Fox Sports perch for 104 games starting on Thursday, June 11.

>Read on for our exclusive interview with Lloyd.

You've gone from playing in a World Cup to covering it. What does that mean to you?

This is such a unique opportunity, not only to cover a World Cup, but a home World Cup in the U.S. When I finished playing in 2023, not one percent of me had going into TV and being on this side of things on my radar.

>How do you prepare for calling 104 games over 39 days?

I probably started a month ago. It is very hard with the amount of teams, so it's hard to kind of dive into the nitty-gritty of the teams and players. My overall preparation ... it's getting these binders and separating them out with teams, putting bits of different information, kind of getting an overarching feel and writing down how each team likes to play and their style. Fox does a great job. They obviously help to make us look good on the air and we have a great research team behind the scenes that give us loads of information.

Carli Lloyd and her husband Brian Hollins are pictured inside the photo booth prior to The Best FIFA Football Awards at The London Palladium on Oct. 23, 2017 Credit: Alexander Hassenstein - FIFA/FIFA via GettyIf a casual soccer fan is looking to get in on the action at a World Cup watch party, how can they chime in?

There's different phases of a soccer game. Obviously, you have formations [how players are positioned on the field] and you have line-ups [players selected to start the match], but those formations tend to be fluid and there's some players switching in and out of those moments. But you can perhaps talk about the kind of shape that they're in when they're in possession of the ball versus when they don't have the ball. A lot of teams morph into some different formations on the field with the way they attack and the way they defend.

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>This is also an exciting time for you and your husband, Brian Hollins, as you're expecting your second child. How are you feeling?

Good! This is a little bit different being pregnant while also having a toddler [daughter Harper, 19 months], so it's very exhausting, to say the least, but worth every bit of it. We're really excited!

>Read the original article on People